colossal youth

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Montelobos)
1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1/2 oz Sloe Gin (Atxa Patxaran)
1/2 oz Campari
1/4 oz Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao
1 barspoon Bittermens Mole Bitters (2 dash)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass or into a rocks glass with a big ice cube. Garnish with a lemon twist.

After getting home from Trina's Starlite Lounge, I decided to figure out a nightcap plan. The recipe solution came to me via the BarNotes website (I do not have an iPhone to use their app) where I had earlier stumbled upon Rafa Garcia Febles' Young Marble Giants tribute, Colossal Youth. Rafa's recipe was a riff on Colin Shearn's Transatlantic Giant from Beta Cocktails except with mezcal and Campari instead of the original's Bourbon and Cynar.
The Colossal Youth shared lemon oil notes over the drink's rum funk and mezcal smoke aromas. Next, a dark berry from the sloe liqueur mingled with the caramel on the sip, and the swallow gave forth smoky agave, Jamaican rum funk, chocolate, and bitter orange flavors. Indeed, the recipe proved to be just as colossal as Shearn's cocktail giant.

movin' to the country

2 oz Campari
1 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Crème de Peche
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 Egg White

Shake once without ice and once with, strain into a large coupe glass, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.
Two Wednesdays ago, I stopped into Trina's Starlite Lounge for dinner when bartenders Tainah Soares and Cory Buono were working. For a drink, I asked Tainah for the Movin' to the Country that she described as Tony Iamunno's creation. I was drawn to the drink for the combination of Campari and peach is a great one that I learned through Derek Brown's Bitter Peach and tinkered with in my Campeche. Once prepared, the Movin' to the Country's grapefruit twist brightened the orange and peach aroma. Next, a creamy grape sip led into a peach swallow with a soft, rounded bitterness and an orange finish.

[orana maria]

2 oz Hamilton's 80 Proof Guyana Rum
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Giffard's Banane du Bresil
1/4 oz Velvet Falernum
1/4 oz Fee's Orgeat
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass.

For a second drink at Estragon, I narrowed my choices down to two in Sahil Mehta's drink notebook, and I let Sahil pick this unnamed tropical drink of the day. The recipe reminded me of a Mai Tai with the orange liqueur aspect split into banana liqueur and falernum. Since Mai Tai was based on a Tahitian phrase, I looked up the Tahitian word for banana, and their indigenous fe'i banana almost steered me into calling this the Fei Tai. However, the search led me to Paul Gaugin who included Tahitian bananas in a few of his paintings including the 1891 La Orana Maria. Sahil expressed great joy in the art connection, so I dubbed this one the Orana Maria.
The Orana Maria presented a banana aroma accented by clove spice to the nose. Next, lime and the rum's caramel on the sip transitioned to rum, nutty, and banana notes on the swallow with a spice-laden finish.

[bootlegger's breakfast]

3/4 oz Appleton Signature Rum
1/2 oz Laphroaig Scotch
1/2 oz Old Granddad Bourbon
1/2 oz Cynar 70
1/2 oz Lustau Oloroso Sherry
1/4 oz Coffee Heering

Stir with ice and strain into coupe glass.

Two Tuesdays ago, Andrea and I traveled down to the South End to have dinner at Estragon. For a first drink, I asked Sahil Mehta for one of his previous drinks of the day. I was drawn in by Cynar, sherry, and coffee liqueur combination and was left intrigued by the three way split of base spirits with rum, Scotch, and Bourbon. For a name, I dubbed this the Bootlegger's Breakfast with the bootlegger part due to the collection of odds and ends a bootlegger might have on hand and the breakfast part due to the coffee and cigarettes idea.
The Bootlegger's Breakfast brought forth sherry's grape and Scotch's smoke to the nose. Next, a malty, grape, and caramel sip led into whisky smoke, Cynar's herbal, and coffee flavors on the swallow.

zombie essence

3/4 oz Lime Juice
1 oz White Grapefruit Juice (Ruby Red)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz 151 Proof Rum (El Dorado 151)
1 oz Dark Jamaican Rum (Coruba)

Shake with cracked ice, pour into a Zombie mug, and garnish with a mint sprig.

Two Mondays ago, I was flipping through Beachbum Berry's Remixed and spotted Jeff Berry's minimalized version of Don the Beachcomber's 1934 Zombie. This circa 2007 "Zombie (simplified)" adaptation stripped away the spice trio of falernum, Angostura, and absinthe as well as a third rum and the grenadine, and I was curious as to the result.
Once built, this Zombie shared mint and floral notes from the garnishes. Next, lime and grapefruit paired with the rum's caramel on the sip, and the swallow offered funky rum notes from the Coruba and jet fuel ferocity from the El Dorado overproof with a cinnamon finish. Overall, the lack of grenadine changed little but the third rum could have rounded out the spirit aspect. Moreover, the lost spice notes from the trio decreased the complexity, but it still left a rather enjoyable libation.

los batman

1 1/2 oz Blanco Tequila (Espolon)
1/2 oz Batavia Arrack
1/2 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Agave Nectar

Shake with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora cocktail glass, and garnish with a lime wheel-cherry flag.
Two Sundays ago after my shift, I decided to make a drink from Town & Country's 17 Cocktail Recipes that Logic Says Shouldn't Work (But Do) article called Los Batman. The recipe was created by Blake Pope of Kindred in Davidson, North Carolina, as a Tequila Sour made funky with Cynar and Batavia Arrack. As I reached for the bottle of tequila on the top shelf, I disturbed a summertime visitor of a little brown bat who then took a few laps around my kitchen before returning to roost in my bottles. Building my nightcap took a pause as I donned winter gloves and was able to capture the bat and safely deposit him outdoors. So in honor of the wee bat that I told "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here," I finished preparing the Los Batman and toasted him.
The Los Batman offered the agave's vegetal notes to the nose along with the lime garnish aroma. The lime continued on into the rich sip, and the swallow was a combination of tequila, funkiness from the Batavia Arrack, and vegetal bitterness from the Cynar.

old vermont

2 oz Gin (Beefeater)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Maple Syrup (Merton's Farm, VT)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass; I added a lemon twist.

After researching the Applejack Rabbit, two Saturdays ago I decided to make a variation I discovered called the Old Vermont that David Embury mentioned in his The Art of Mixing Drinks. Instead of the applejack in the better known classic, the Old Vermont called for gin and bitters. Embury recommended a 6:1:1:1 ratio, but I opted for the PDT Cocktail Book's structure for the Applejack Rabbit that worked well a week before.
The Old Vermont shared a lemon, orange, and pine aroma that transitioned well into the rich orange and lemon sip. Next, the swallow presented gin, orange, and maple flavors with an allspice and clove finish. Overall, the drink was not that different from the Applejack Rabbit save for being a bit drier and more herbal and spiced.

henry trotter

1 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 (1 1/4 oz Camus VS)
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Crème de Peche (Briottet)

Whip shake, strain into a Collins glass, and fill with crushed ice. Dash the top with Angostura Bitters to form a layer and then top with more crushed ice. Garnish with nutmeg, lemon wheel, and a paper umbrella.
Two Fridays ago, I was looking through Pierre Ferrand's New York City Cocktail Book and I spotted a drink called the Henry Trotter that reminded me a little of the Democrat crossed with a Japanese. Once prepared, the Henry Trotter offered nutmeg, allspice, and hints of grape to the nose. Next, a rich lemon and grape sip gave way to a Cognac-driven swallow that paired well with a nutty element which was sherry-ish from the peach, orgeat, and vermouth elements.

fallback

1 oz Old Overholt Rye
1 oz Laird's Applejack
1/2 oz Amaro Montenegro
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with an orange twist.

Two Thursdays ago, I spotted a recipe by Sasha Petraske in 1210 Cocktails; with the first anniversary of his death then approaching and now just passed, I figured it would be a decent tribute. With rye, vermouth, and Amaro Montenegro, the Fallback reminded me a bit of the Cobble Hill; however, the latter's cucumber donated a more summery feel whereas the Fallback's apple lent a more autumnal flavor.
The Fallback shared an orange and apple aroma that led into a malt, grape, and citrus sip. Finally, the swallow proffered rye and bitter orange notes with an apple-laden finish.